Traditionally on the eve of Kolede are held folk gatherings with burning fires in neighborhoods and streets in every city in Macedonia.
However in the early morning on 6th of January, children called koledarchinja will announce the birth of Christ. Also today on Kolede, the day before Christmas Eve, traditionally, kids (koledari) gather and go from home to home singing traditional songs that are sang on that day in the evening. For return, the host of the home gives them money and says 'May we celebrate for many years' - Za mnogu godini.
Macedonian people honor these holidays with a lot of attention. Christmas is God's holiday celebrated to commemorate the birth of Lord Jesus Christ. This holiday is the mother of all other religious holidays, since the birth of Christ is considered the beginning of a new era.
Today Orthodox Christians in Macedonia are gathered to burn Christmas Eve fire, which according to Orthodox beliefs, is a messenger of Jesus' birth. People are gathering tonight in the neighborhoods where they live, they light a fire, dance, eat, drink and enjoy traditional Macedonian songs.
This tradition, which is a part of the Orthodox tradition, symbolizes good luck, prosperity and health for families, and is thought to be several centuries old. According to folk beliefs, the fire removes evil and represents a messenger for a new life.
Pagan custom?
The priests are divided in opinions about lighting fires and general merriment. Some of them appeal to abandon the celebration of Kolede with big fires in public places, with parties where people are drinking alcohol, eating a lot of meat and listen to loud music, because this tradition is a pagan practice and is not in the spirit of Christmas Eve, when we need to show modesty and restraint, and fasted Badnik dinner as a hint of the great Christian feast, which should unite the family, and midnight Christmas liturgy must not be replaced with the neighborhood fires and the cult of warm brandy. But others argue that there is nothing pagan in this act of celebration. Different views of priests confused citizens, but people still light a fire on this day every year.
